Lacking Hot Takes

You probably don't read this drivel for hot takes about whats happening in the world of cardboard. In fact I don't really know why you read my nonsense, but I'm grateful you come along for the ride. My guess is you all secretly think I'm Bob Walk or love hearing about a new middle reliever auto I picked up! 

As most of you know I'm not a set collector.  I'm always jealous of fellow bloggers that can dissect a set so perfectly and then compare it to sets across years.  These posts are important as they are nice change of pace from the "sick hits" collecting mentality on most social media sites. I feel like the blogs help as a nice way to show that people can appreciate all types of collecting.  Sometimes it is good to have a little base card appreciation 101. I'm just not the person to teach it. 

My collecting brain tends to focus more on content than design. I can look past a lot of design flaws if some obscure Pirate or Mountaineer is featured.  I love base cards, but don't feel like I'm a good person to give a review of an entire set.  The set as a whole could be piss poor, but if a Pirate middle reliever got his first card you better believe I'm buying that card.  I'm also likely posting said card on the blog and praising whatever Panini Pantheon Spectra Triple Play Onyx set it came out of.  

In some ways I kind of wish my collecting brain would tell me "hey that card is kind of ugly." Unfortunately the side of the brain that likes well thought out design is overruled by the one who likes variety. "Hey Matt this is your left brain, that 2015 Panini Prizm set looks like shit." More powerful right brain, THAT SET HAS A JARED HUGHES CARD!!!!.  That pretty much sums up my collecting and why I rarely do set reviews.  

Ok, I better show some cards now.  Maybe I'll try and do a review! 

Contenders is a well known football and basketball set that features a deep rookie checklist. I've long been a fan because deep checklists means I can find obscure Mountaineers.  When I heard they were making a baseball version I was excited.  The 2015 set was a personal favorite because it featured 3 Black Bears.

Whenever you feature college baseball you are obviously making a niche product. On the flip side it makes for a nice way around the MLB licensing issue.  If you like prospect autos you should check out this set.  You can get some big names for a fraction of the Bowman price.  I think all three of these cost me around $7 total.  Both Hayes and Newman are big prospects in the Pirates system and Kramer is coming off a huge season. 

Now all of you go out and buy Contenders autos based on this glowing review!

Thanks for reading!

Just Commons Delivers a Rarity

Last week I was browsing Just Commons for some Black Bear cards. I had posted that I was going to try and accumulate as many cards featuring the Black Bears uniform as possible.  So far I had only explored eBay and figured it was time to branch out.

The first mass distributed set that featured Black Bears was Pro Debut.  No autos were made so I'm only chasing the base cards and inserts.  When I searched Kevin Kramer I was surprised to see this listed.

Kevin Kramer 2016 Pro Debut Black 1/1

The seller had it listed for $25.  SOLD! I'm not sure what this would have sold on for eBay, but it felt like a good deal.  Lesson learned, make sure to check all reputable sites. 

As we speak I'm driving to Ohio for wedding. Nothing is more fun then going to an outside wedding in 95 degree heat. 

Thanks for reading. 

The Bear Project

One of the great aspects about my hometown of Morgantown gaining a minor league team last year is just starting paying dividends the last couple of weeks. Now that the WV Black Bears are entering their second season, cards featuring players in the Black Bear uniforms are starting to hit the market. With the release of Topps Pro Debut both 2015 first round pick Kevin Newman and 2nd round pick Kevin Kramer are featured prominently.

I've decided to accumulate as many cards as I can of the local team.  Since this team is a Pirate affiliate this is really nothing new for me to collect other than I'm going to make a conscience effort to keep track of what I'm accumulating.

Here are a few of the cards I've found so far....

Kevin Newman is very affordable on the secondary market so it has allowed me to chase some higher end cards that I would normally pass on. These two plates popped up not long after the Pro Debut went live.

 This is a blank back 1/1 that I actually was excited to own.

 The orange parallels are /25.

This is a gold parallel of the Distinguished Debuts insert /50.  

The Kramer blank back went live the same time as the Newman.  Kramer items are also very affordable. 

I've also picked up a few lots of the base cards to add to my collection.  I hope at some point to be able to pick up a printing plate of Kramer, but I've yet to see one hit eBay.  

Could you imagine all the Seinfeld references if these two make it to Pittsburgh?  I'm sure that would get old quick. Plus these guys were probably in Kindergarten when Seinfeld went off the air.  

If you happen to pull any Black Bears cards I'll be happy to take them off your hands. 

Thanks for reading!